• Defense executive panel offers advice to contractors on future industry challenges.

• Nordic Alliance proposal continues to make political progress.

• ASDReports.com: Global market for armored vehicles will reach $10.3 billion, fueled by continued IED threat.

• US Army: “Review drops two-war force size paradigm,” changing the assumptions used to set required military forces.

• “American Civil Liberties Union” sues the government, asking for in-depth information about the use of UAV strikes in foreign wars.

• CSC snags 5-year, $27 million contract to provide IT to US DoD’s Dependents Schools-Europe, which runs 81 schools for the children of US military.

• Cubic in San Diego, CA will supply small arms training systems to Saudi Arabia under a $30 million contract.

• Boeing’s A160T Hummingbird Warrior helicopter UAV completes resupply trials with US Marines. Main competition is Kaman’s K-MAX.

• USAF continues its shift from cost-plus contracts toward fixed-cost, for the F-35 program. Meanwhile, the first production model F-35B hovers in a test.

• Navy Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Release 1.1 (Single Supply Solution) goes live at Naval Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP). Sounds simple. Isn’t, in practice.

• General Dynamics gets $30.6 million contract to supply 118 Type-3 advanced mission computers for the F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter aircraft.

• Czech firm Aero Vodochody says it will supply 40 cockpits for the US Blawk Hawk troop transport and utility helicopter.

US “Chair” Force?
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UAVs have played a crucial role in gathering intelligence in the US military’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. There are thousands of UAVs gathering and distributing valuable data on the enemy, but each system uses its own proprietary subsystem to control the air vehicle as well as receive and process the data. Yet commanders need access to information gathered by all types of UAVs that are flying missions in their area of operation.

Recognizing this shortcoming, the Pentagon began an effort in 2008 to break down the proprietary barriers between UAV systems and create a single GCS that will fly all types of drones.

This free-to-view DID Spotlight article examines the problem of proprietary UAV systems and efforts to break down barriers to sharing vital UAV-generated information.

• Ground Control to Major Tom: The Role of GCS
• Come Together: The Pentagon’s UCS-WG
• Are You Going STANAG?: NATO’s Standard
• One is the Loneliest Number: AAI’s OneSystem
• Red ROVER, Red ROVER: The ROVER Datalink
• Masters of the Universe: Raytheon’s UCS
• Too Close to the Sun: ICARUS and Autonomy
• Contracts and Key Events
• Additional Readings
  
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FRES-U finalists:
There can be… none?
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FRES-SV weapon agreement; Shake, rattle & roll testing; BAE shifts course in bid to win FRES-SV contract. (March 12/10)

Many of Britain’s army vehicles are old and worn, and the necessities of hard service on the battlefield are only accelerating that wear. The multi-billion pound “Future Rapid Effects System” (FRES) aims to recapitalize the core of Britain’s armored vehicle fleet over the next decade or more, filling many of the same medium armor roles as the Stryker Family of armored wheeled vehicles and/or the Future Combat Systems’ Manned Ground Vehicle family. Current estimates indicate a potential requirement for over 3,700 FRES vehicles, including utility and reconnaissance variants. Even so, one should be cautioned that actual numbers bought usually fall short of intended figures for early-stage defense programs.

The FRES program was spawned by the UK’s withdrawal from the German-Dutch-UK Boxer MRAV modular wheeled APC program, in order to develop a more deployable vehicle that fit Britain’s exact requirements. Those initial requirements were challenging, however, and experience in Iraq and Afghanistan led to decisions that changed a number of requirements. In the end, GD MOWAG’s Piranha V won the utility vehicle competition. FRES-U is not the end of the competition, however, or the contracts. In fact, FRES-U had the winning bidder’s preferred status revoked; that entire phase will now take a back seat to the FRS-SV scout version…

• FRES: The Program
• FRES: Contracts & Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings [updated]
• Appendix 1 – The British Army’s Armored Vehicle Fleet, late 2006
• Appendix 2 – A New Procurement Approach: System House Challenges
• Appendix 3 – FRES: Key Challenges for the Contractors
• Appendix 4 – FRES Experiments: Electronic Architecture Contracts
• Appendix 5 – FRES Experiments: Vehicle-Related Contracts
  
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• USCG acquisition chief warns about declining readiness of cutter fleet [PDF], expects price tag for Deepwater program to reach $27.4 billion.

• UK’s SSN Trafalgar-class fast attack submarine HMS Triumph sets sail for sea trials after 6-year, GBP 300 million refit program that included installation of new sonar and C2 systems and an upgrade of the Tomahawk missile system.

• UK MOD inks GBP 400 million deal to buy capacity on EADS Astrium’s Skynet 5D satellite, which is expected to be launched in 2013; the satellite capacity will be used for military communication, including Bowman radios.

• Der Spiegel: The debate over Germany’s security & defense policies.

• Germany’s KMW delivers 1st Fennek JFST armored reconnaissance vehicles to Bundeswehr for deployment to Afghanistan in April. KMW release [in German]

• Greece reportedly agrees to settle its submarine contract dispute with ThyssenKrupp.

• US Army working to improve its M24 sniper rifles, including a .300 Win Mag upgun.

• South Korea’s KUH Surion utility helicopter makes its first flight.

• US military’s next-generation JPALS flight approach and landing system completes preliminary design review.

• ATK reorganizes into 4 business units; Karen Davis to head armament systems group. ATK release | Associated Press

BCTM B-Kit in Hummer
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The GAO tells Congress BCTM Increment 1 technologies are “immature” and “unreliable.” (March 10/10)

Concerns about cost overruns, vehicle design, and contract structure prompted the Pentagon to cancel the US Army’s Future Combat System (FCS) program in June 2009.

Instead of a single FCS contract, the Pentagon directed the Army to set up a number of separate programs to undertake parts of the FCS program. One of those programs is the Brigade Combat Team Modernization (BCTM) Increment 1. The BCTM Increment 1 capabilities – which include ground robots, UAVs, ground sensors, and vehicle (B-Kit) network integration kits – are planned to be fielded to 7 Infantry Brigade Combat Teams beginning in 2011.

A Boeing/SAIC team recently received a $138 million contract from the Army for low-rate initial production of the brigade sets for the BCTM Increment 1 capabilities…

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• CSC survey: US aerospace and defense execs see growth opportunities in cybersecurity, renewable energy, and physical and information infrastructure.

• Self-organizing, supra-military networks on the battlefield: Saving British Soldier X, and an account of what it took in deployed resources.

• Chilean earthquake hits Talcahuano NB hard, reportedly totaled 2 U209 submarines in ASMAR shipyard; full shipyard recovery could take up to 5 years [video, with subtitles].

• Forecast International: Report predicts $28.4 billion will be spent on electronic warfare systems over the next 10 years.

• Taiwan defense ministry issues report that warns China has better fighter jets. Well, yes. More of them, too.

• China is also sporting digital camouflage on its uniforms, and vehicles. They’re early adopters for vehicles, but not the first.

• South Africa’s new Gripen fighters, MEKO frigates, and U209/1400 submarines: just for show?

• USAF test of X-51 hypersonic cruise missile delayed, DangerRoom reports.

• Weather pushes A400M testing to Toulouse, France, as 2nd test plane is handed over.

• DARPA is looking for industry proposals for development of non-volatile logic technologies that can be used in remote sensors, small UAVs, and high-performance computers.

• Air Force Research Lab is asking for white papers on integrating C2 capabilities across cyber, air and space domains.

CACI International received a $31 million task order to support implementation of Oracle’s E-Business Suite for the US Department of Defense Business Transformation Agency’s Defense Agency Initiative (DAI) program.

The task order was awarded under the Defense Information System Agency’s $12.3 billion ENCORE II contract vehicle. It is also 1 of 3 DAI-related awards CACI has won with the Business Transformation Agency in the past 12 months, which total approximately $53 million.

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The US Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) in Patuxent River, MD is looking for contractors to provide maintenance, logistics, and life cycle service support for its Special Communications Requirement Division’s (SCRD) communication-electronic (C-E) equipment, systems and subsystems.

The SCRD designs, develops, tests and supports joint special operations’ communications and electronics equipment. The division develops quick reaction and testing of communications packages for hand-held and manpack radios, high speed and rigid inflatable boats, mobile and fixed-base operations, special communications vans and other vehicles, and air-land transportable command posts.

NAWCAD recently issued a sources sought notice to get industry feedback for a follow-on to a contract (N00421-06-C-0085) that was awarded to BAE Systems Technology Solutions & Services in Rockville, MD in 2006.

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Networking the Navy
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The US Navy’s Consolidated Afloat Networks and Enterprise Services (CANES) program is designed to streamline and update shipboard networks to improve interoperability across the fleet.

The primary goal of the CANES program is to build a secure shipboard network required for naval and joint operations, and consolidate and reduce the number of shipboard networks through the use of cross domain technologies and common computing environment infrastructure.

The US Navy recently awarded 2 contracts, with a potential value of $1.7 billion, for the design and development of the CANES common computing environment. A single prime contractor is expected to be selected in 2011…

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• Australian government continues to update their Defence Capability Plan 2009-2013 online, as promised

• POGO says US Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) is resisting meaningful reform, advocates independent agency status.

• Is a deal to modernize India’s Mirage 2000 fighter fleet any closer? Depends on whom you ask.

• DARPA is looking for commercially available smart phone apps that can be used on the battlefield.

• NCI told to stop work on task order to support BRAC-mandated C4I/IT move to Fort Meade because of protest filed with GAO.

• Curtiss-Wright to supply $25 million Advanced Mission Management System to Northrop Grumman for US Navy’s BAMS UAS program.

• Lockheed Martin gets $23 million contract to provide computer systems for modernization of the USAF’s Launch & Test Range System.